Doctor urges young adults to eat one food item to reduce cancer risk

Talking to Dr Rupy Aujla on his podcast, The Doctor’s Kitchen, lifestyle medicine physician Dr Nitu Bajekal divulged all things nutrition, particularly looking at anti-inflammatory diets for polycystic ovarian syndrome sufferers. However, one tangent saw the nutrition expert extolling soy or “the magic bean” that she urged everyone, particularly young people, to incorporate into their diet.

Sympathising with the “poor little bean” for the bad reputation it has as one of the most controversial topics in nutrition, Dr Bajekal insisted: “It has fibre, protein, lots of micronutrients it also has plant estrogens. What these clever beans do is the plant estrogens block the excess mammalian estrogens coming from our body fat, diary and red meat.

"It goes and promotes the growth of bones, reduces your risk of osteoporosis, reduces hot flashes, helps to lose weight, protects the heart.” The expert noted that soy’s “blocking effect” is why it helps to drastically reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer as well as a myriad of other cancers.

She continued: “We know that those who consume soy earlier in childhood and in early adulthood have a 25% reduction in aggressive prostate cancer and it also reduces colon cancer, ovarian cancer, womb cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer,” noting that it does this by preventing the formation of blood vessels that fuel cancer growth.

However, soy can have a negative impact on people with thyroid conditions and Dr Bajekal advised: “If you have a thyroid problem I want you to have at least two hours between taking your (medicine) and your soy milk or tofu because it can compete for the same receptors.”

Dr Bajekal advised people to have between two and four portions of soy a day, as she concluded: “Don’t demonise soy, you should celebrate soy because it has plant estrogens.”